Gol D. Roger
Gol D. Roger (ゴール・D・ロジャー, Gōru D. Rojā), nicknamed as Gold Roger (ゴールド・ロジャー, Gōrudo Rojā), was the King of the Pirates (海賊団の王, Kaizokudan no Ō), captain of the Roger Pirates, and owner of the legendary treasure known as "One Piece". Appearance :Voice Actor: Sean Hennigan (English), Chikao Ōtsuka, (Japanese), Takeshi Kusao (Japanese, young) Roger is a tall man who walked proudly before his execution. His most prominent physical features were his curved black mustache, a fierce grin he almost always wore, and his intense eyes. He also had thick black hair and a short thick neck. Like many other high ranked pirates, he wore a long red captain's coat over his shoulders, he wore a blue shirt and had a green sash around his waist. He had a white cravat around his neck, wore dark blue pants, and (unlike most other pirates seen in the One Piece World) he wore what appeared to be black sea boots. Before he turned himself in, he also wore a pirate hat with his jolly roger on it over a yellow spotted bandana. During the Battle in Edd War, however, he donned a dark-blue vest and a yellow sash. He was one of the few people to mirror the stereotypical pirate. His birthday was December 31st. Later on, during a flashback to Roger's first meeting with Rayleigh, it was revealed that Roger was somewhat looked like Luffy's father, only he had no scar anywhere on either eye, and he had peach fuzz before it became the mustache it was then. He is cool Gallery Personality He was said to be fearless and those who witnessed his execution even claim that he smiled just before his death. Gol D. Roger's personality is often commented by people who knew him to have been similar to Luffy. This is best shown when he meets Rayleigh and ask him to join him despite having no idea how strong he was or even what role he would have on his ship. Ace tells what he knows about him to Whitebeard, who noted that Ace's personality was not much like Roger of his father's. However, they both shared the "didn't run" from battle: Garp stated that Roger would not run away from an enemy in order to protect his crew from danger. Roger was also a man who loved big, flashy things and reveled in his title of King of the Pirates despite his oncoming death. While not portrayed during any of his appearances, he can be a merciless enemy when he got angry. This was further evidenced when he killed all of Squard's crewmembers personally for unknown reasons. Roger was very quick to anger and he would retaliate for something as simple as an insult to his crew regardless of how small it might be. Garp stated that an angry Roger can be a violent, selfish, and short-tempered man, but his actions had been pure and straight, just like a child's, and that he was lucky to survive and become the Pirate King despite his extremely reckless nature. Luffy has a similar personality in terms of recklessness, and Ace had a similar personality in terms of getting easily angered by insults. Roger was very quick to anger and he would retaliate for something as simple as an insult to his crew regardless of how small it might be. Garp stated that an angry Roger can be a violent, selfish, and short-tempered man, but his actions had been pure and straight, just like a child's, and that he was lucky to survive and become the King of the Pirates despite his extremely reckless nature. Luffy has a similar personality in terms of recklessness, and Ace had a similar personality in terms of getting easily angered by insults. Relationships Friends/Allies *Roger Pirates **Silvers Rayleigh **Crocus **Shanks **Monkey D. Tiger **Scopper Gaban **Seagull *Gunfall *Tom *Kokoro Family *Portgaz D. Rouge (wife deceased) *Portuguese D. Ace (son deceased) *Portuguese D. Ann (nice) *Nojiko (daughter-in-law) *Gol D. Veno (father deceased) *Perla Notredam (mother deceased) Neutral *Buggy *Marshall D. Teech/Blackbeard Rivals *Whitebeard *Shiki the Golden Lion Enemies *Navy **Monkey D. Garp **Sengoku *World Government Abilities and Powers Prior to his death, Roger was called the "King of the Pirates" because his fighting power was nearly unstoppable. Only two people have ever matched Roger in battle: Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp, who possesses immense strength even in old age and cornered him multiple times before his surrender, and his rival Ward "Whitebeard" Newgate who held the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and was called the "Strongest Man in the World" after Roger's death. Other examples of his strength include fighting on equal ground with Shiki, who commanded the largest pirate fleet of the time and single-handedly defeating the armies of several countries. He was possibly the strongest man in the world (together with his rival Whitebeard). Another testament to his strength is the fact that his first mate, Silvers Rayleigh, was able to battle on par with Admiral Kizaru, even in his old age. Roger was also able to understand the meaning of the characters written on the Ponecliffs as well as write in the same language. However, he was not like the Ohara scholars who used their intellect to study the Ponecliffs. So he could not exactly "read" them. According to Rayleigh, Roger could interpret the Ponecliffs because he had the ability to "hear the voice of all things". He was also one of two known humans in the series who possesed the ability to hear Neptunians speaking, the other being Luffy. Weapons While fighting Shiki and his massive fleet, it has been shown that Gol D. Roger wielded a sword in one hand and a gun in the other. History Past born and raised in logue town,grew up with parents, Veno and Pearl, in peace and harmony, when he was seventeen years old, the Marines fire his house and killed his parents, since then Roger walked for days and made a vagabond life Unavoidable Fate Twenty-six years before the start of the story (four years before his death), Roger came down with an incurable disease. He decided to pitch one last journey with his crew into the Grand Line. Upon reaching the lighthouse at Reverse Mountain, at the entrance of the Grand Line, he recruited Crocus as his doctor that would be responsible for keeping him alive until the completion of his journey. Their journey took them to Skypiea and later Water 7 where the shipwright Tom built them a ship called the Oro Jackson. Two of the most powerful opponents Roger faced on his journey were the Navy Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp and the pirate Ward 'Whitebeard' Newgate. The former is said to have cornered him many times on the journey, and the latter was the closest rival to his title. It is said that Whitebeard was the only one capable of matching Roger in combat. Before reaching Raftel on his final journey, Roger was approached by the "Flying Pirate" Shiki, who had learned that Roger had located an Ancient Weapon. Seeing the opportunity, he asked Roger if they could join forces. With his large pirate fleet and Roger's weapon, Shiki believed that together they could take over the whole world, even telling Roger that what happened between them in the past was now forgotten. Despite the urge of one of his apprentices, Roger refused Shiki's offer, saying that he wanted to be free to do what he wanted. Shiki then announced that his answer meant the death of him, while Roger said it meant that he would beat him and a great sea battle soon ensued between their crews. Roger was spared due to a storm that happened during their fight, half of Shiki's fleet sunk. Despite this and getting a piece of a steering wheel lodged into his head that almost killed him, Shiki came to have great respect for Roger. Near his death, Roger had a final meeting with Whitebeard, as he told him about the nickname the government gave him, Gold Roger, and the secret of the Spirit of the D.'s will. Final Days of the King In the final days of Roger's reign, he had attained more wealth, power, and fame than anyone could imagine. Though now known as the Pirate King, Roger was well-aware of his own mortality. As if seeing the end, he disbanded his crew in secret. Before his death, he told Rayleigh he would not die. He also informed Whitebeard that he was going to die before his execution. Whether he was referring to his illness or him giving up to the Navy, is unknown. Here, he also informs Whitebeard of the meaning of the people carrying the Spirit of the D.'s will. Also, someday he met Portgaz D. Rouge, a woman living in Baterilla. Roger then turned himself into the Navy and scheduled to be excecuted. While in prison, he asked of Garp to take care of Tiger and his family in his (Roger) graditude for eveything he (Tiger) has done for him when he (Roger) was gone, saying that they should not be labeled a criminal for his times as a member of his crew. Although Garp said he had no obligation to do so, Roger knew he would do it anyway. Thinking they would make an example of him to prevent others from becoming pirates, they immediately set up his execution in Roguetown. But as he was about to die, Roger yelled out his famous last words: "My fortune is yours for the taking, but you'll have to find it first. I left everything I owned in One Piece". The swords of the executioners fell and the greatest pirate of them all died. This was thought to of been a warning to all and extinguish the hopes of all pirates, but it failed. The last words of Gold Roger ignited the excitement of the world, and thus began "The Great Age of Pirates", dubbed by a few characters as the "Age of Dreams". The echoes of his influence flicker far into the current era, and shape most of the world after his death. As far as directly influencing major players, those known to be present at his execution include his apprentices Tiger, Shanks and Buggy, the traitor Marshall D. Teech, who later on became a pirate captain named "Blackbeard"; the Warlords of the Sea Crocodile, Don Quixote Doflamingo, Hawk-Eye Mihawk, and Gecko Moria; the revolutionary Monkey D. Dragon; a 12-year-old Smoker Chaser; and it can be assumed from their conversation with Shiki that Monkey D. Garp and Fleet Admiral Sengoku attended as well. Synopsis Twenty two years after his death, while Blackbeard and his crew was battling Whitebeard, Sengoku, and Monkey D. Garp, Teech revealed to the world that Roger's treasure, One Piece, is real and implied the implications of what would happen once it was found. This caused the Great Age of Pirates to become even more stronger and greater than it was ever before. Major Battles * Gol D. Roger vs. Killer Giant * Gol D. Roger vs. "King" Eric Dow * Gol D. Roger vs. the giant men Gowns Brothers * Gol D. Roger vs. the famous gunner Silver-Silver * Roger Pirates vs. Naguri Pirates * Gol D. Roger vs. Shiki (unseen, several times) * Gol D. Roger vs. Ward Newgate (unseen, several times) * Gol D. Roger vs. Monkey D. Garp (unseen, several times) * Roger Pirates vs. Golden Lion Pirates (Edd War) * Roger Pirates vs. Squard's first pirate crew (unseen) Trivia * Roger's birthday is December 31st. * It seems that Roger didn't like the nickname "Gold Roger" because it wasn't his true name. * In episode 85 of the anime, when Hiriluk was describing what a pirate is to Chopper, a man who was identical in appearance to Roger was seen. * Upon his death, the real life pirate Olivier Levasseur had tossed a cryptogram from the scaffolding into the crowd and told them if they could figure out the message, his treasure (now valued at £160,000,000 in today's money) would be theirs, a treasure that to this day has never been found. This seems to have been part of the inspiration for Roger's legendary death speech, as Roger himself had delivered the message to find his treasure, and notably the Ponecliffs are also part of a grand cryptogram leading to the end of the Grand Line. * Roger is the first known owner of the straw hat that Luffy (and previously Tiger) wears. References Site Navigation Category:Humans Category:Male Category:Pirates Category:Pirate Captains Category:Roger Pirates Category:Explorers Category:Will of D. Category:Gol Family Category:Swordsmen Category:East Blue Characters Category:Protagonists Category:Deceased Category:Flashback Introduction